


Ferrets Smell Like Apples?

by dracosmybf



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Ginny Weasley, Book 6: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Death Eater Draco Malfoy, Eventual Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hermione Granger-centric, Hurt/Comfort, Potions Class (Harry Potter), Ron Weasley Bashing, Ron loves food, Slow Build, did i mention Harrys dumb as a brick?, no beta we die like dumbledore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:08:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 17,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24628336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracosmybf/pseuds/dracosmybf
Summary: What would have happened if Hermione ran into Draco in a secret passage?She finds out he's a death eater,but what if she also finds out that he's not the evil ferret everyone thinks he is?Can she save him before it's too late?Dramione 6th year HBPWIP
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Lavender Brown/Ron Weasley
Comments: 12
Kudos: 52
Collections: Dramione





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is the first story I've ever written! yay!  
> because of this, I would really appreciate any feedback you have for me. Thank you!  
> this is a WIP, but I update rather frequently.  
> disclaimer: as much as I love and pray to the God who is Draco, I do not own him or anything Harry Potter, that belongs to J.K Rowling .... anyway hope you enjoy

She was running, running because she could. Running from your problems is easy when you have a library at your disposal.

Maybe she should have slowed down when ducking around the tapestry that covered the entrance to the secret passage, the shortcut to her haven, she probably wouldn't have run into him, but of course, that's exactly what happened.

She stumbled, but strong hands gripped her arms as soon as she crashed into the strong chest of non-other than Draco Malfoy.

"Granger" he spat angrily "what in Merlin's name are you doing here?"

"I could say the same to you Malfoy" her quick wit instantly taking over.

She frowned in the dim light she could make out the dark circles under his eyes. they were so close she could feel his hot breath across her face he smelled of apples "Shut it granger" he grunted looking pissed, then realizing he was still holding her shoulders, let go and stepped back quickly, as if he couldn't get away fast enough.

"You look awful," she remarked, after studying him some more, and to be honest as much as she hated him, she kinda regretted noticing that someone so handsome and aristocratic could look awful at times.

His usually immaculate hair was messed up almost sexy, his cheeks were sunken, and his eyes were unmistakably tired.

"I don't need your opinion granger" he seethed

She couldn't help but notice that he hadn't disagreed with her.

"have you been sleeping?" she asked in a curious voice that did nothing to mask her concern.

He opened his mouth to retort, but she quickly added "or eating? Goodness Malfoy are you sick you should speak to Pomfrey immedia- "

"I don't need your pity Granger" he cut her off, Something flashing in his eyes "don't act as if you care when you don't "

"I do care" she huffed then with fear in her eyes she met his icy glare whilst keeping eye contact he didn't notice her hand stick out and grab his wrist, her grip tight he tried in vain to yank away but she kept hold

"Hermione no" he pleaded firmly

Although surprised by the use of her first name she ignored his protests, the fear and something else in his eyes was unsettling and she forced herself to break eye contact

She guided his arm towards her, and surprisingly this time he didn't pull away.

Using the hand not gripping his wrist with trembling fingers and a heartbeat of a million miles a minute she pulled up the sleeve

She had been expecting it, but still took in a sharp intake of breath at the sight "oh Draco" she choked out

The mark was stark in contrast to his pale skin, the writhing of the snake almost hypnotic as she took it in.

Tearing her eyes away from the mark she brought them back up to his. She now recognized the unknown emotion that had been in his eyes earlier: shame. He looked away avoiding her penetrating gaze.

But then he turned back to her his eyes still flashing with shame, but now there was anger there too

"Leave it like I said I don't need your pity" the last few words came out a harsh whisper, then with a strange twisted almost forced look on his face he added quietly "I wanted this"

Hermione couldn't help noticing the past tense in his words

"But you don't want it anymore" she finished slowly and hopefully

He turned to glare at but didn't say anything.

She felt a sudden sadness and tears began to leak out of her eyes. He looked so broken, so young, he shouldn't have his future ruined by such an evil excuse for a man.

He looked scared and quite confused at her reaction "I…uh…er.. don't cry Hermione" despite how awful he looked, his obvious uncomfortableness at the situation was quite cute, he shook his head the hair falling into his eyes, a weird expression covering his face "bloody emotional woman" he muttered.

Hemione surprised herself when she laughed, then surprised herself, even more, when she took a step closer, and ever so slowly reached up and gently brushed the hair out of his eyes, but left her hand hovering barely an inch away from touching his cheek.

His eyes flicked up startled at the action, but yet he somehow found himself leaning into her hand, craving human contact. He closed his eyes tight as if trying to hide the emotion hiding there as if he could ignore her closeness despite the feeling of pleasant warmth flooding through his body.

The point where her hand was, was a weakness, Malfoys don't have weaknesses, but yet the tiny voice in his mind told him he needed this, needed this fleeting feeling of comfort.

Noticing his reaction to the touch gave her confidence.  
Hermione felt herself move closer until they were less than a hair's breadth away, so close that she could smell him, a subtle combination of expensive cologne, and a faint apple scent.  
despite the internal war raging on behind his eyes. He unconsciously leaned in closer, her warmth radiating off her in waves.

Hermione's heart was beating out of her chest, and as the two gravitated towards each other she could swear he could hear it.

Her hand the one that wasn't on his cheek lowered to rest on his shoulder

And his hands moving of their own accord moved to rest on her hips.

Leaning ever closer his tantalizing smell invading her senses she rested her cheek against his chest.

He made no move away from her, instead proceeding to bury his face in the crook of her neck, his breath danced across her skin leaving goosebumps in its wake. Her hand resting on his cheek moved, slowly she curled her arm around the back of his neck, in the process pulling him closer, squeezing him tight. He reciprocated by moving his hands from her waist, and around her back also pulling her closer.

The two stayed in the warm embrace for some time. it was neither awkward nor forced, and both would've been content to stay that way, most likely to avoid the inevitable parting.  
Alas, fate was against them, as from the direction of the end of the passage came footsteps, although far off, whoever it was, was most definitely coming their way.

she reluctantly pulled away slowly no doubt trying to avoid startling him into fleeing. She felt him slowly pull away but not letting go all the same. she lifted her head intent on seeing his expression. She mentally prepared herself for the disgust that would most likely be upon his face. instead, she was greeted with his expressionless face. Meeting his eyes though she instead found herself immersed in his emotions: sadness as well as the seemingly ever-present shame, and guilt reflected there.

His grey emotion-filled eyes confirmed her inner suspicions, he was just a scared broken boy, who like her had been forced to grow up much too young. She found herself viewing him differently; she knew she would always see a death eater, but she also knew that she now understood him more, that it wasn't his choice, that he deserves a second chance. Right then and there, she made a vow with herself: when the war is finished, she will do everything in her power to make sure that he stayed out of Azkaban, everything.


	2. Bloody Ferret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I sincerely hope you aren't expecting any compassion or help from me you petulant, cantankerous, obdurate, odious…” she struggled, trying to think up even more words to insult his retched personality

The approaching footsteps broke the pair out of their reverie. Draco immediately let go and stumbled backwards. He looked confused as if he wanted to say something, but then he just glared at her, his icy gaze somewhat detached, he then forced out "don't you ever touch me again Mudblood" his voice a low snarl. Before she had time to shake her shock, he pushed past her and stalked away out of the passage. She could feel the onslaught of impending tears behind her eyes, she took a deep breath and ran after him. No way was he getting the last word.

He hadn't gotten far, she could see him at the end of the long corridor "Malfoy!" she shrieked her voice so high-pitched she was surprised no windows had shattered. He turned slowly, his usual smirk plastered on his face, he faltered though when he saw her expression: pure rage, mixed in with a whole lot of hurt. He quickly morphed his face into a glare "what?" he spat. 

She walked right up to him when she was less than a foot away she started screaming: "I sincerely hope you aren't expecting any compassion or help from me you petulant, cantankerous, obdurate, odious…” she stumbled over her words trying to think of even more words fitting his retched personality, but deciding she had said enough, she finished angrily “bloody fucking ferret!!!" in turn with each insult at the end of her outburst, she made sure to poke him very hard in the chest to enunciate each word.

By the time she was finished with insulting him, he looked quite dumbstruck. He opened his mouth to say something, most likely some insult that would wipe that annoying smug expression off her face, but seemed to think better of it and pressed his lips firmly together, then with contempt oozing he replied with a snarl "stay out of my business Granger, I neither need nor want your pity" his voice was a harsh whisper, then without giving her time to react, he retreated down the corridor.

This time Hermione didn't bother following, instead, she watched the spot where he had turned the corner long after he was gone. She was lost in her own mind as she replayed the events of the night over and over again.

She snapped back to reality though when Peeves flew by, he was humming something that much resembled “Weasley is our king.”

She then turned on her heel and rushed back to Gryffindor tower.

As she ran she couldn't help but note that she had been running a lot, this past year being no exception, and she had a feeling, that a lot of her future problems were sure to involve a platinum-haired prick. The thought made her breathless for some reason, and that only made her angry, there was no way she would ever feel anything but contempt towards a Malfoy. Screw everything she thought before, that bastard was going to Azkaban! But as she thought this, her mind instantly flashed to a pair of emotion-filled grey eyes, and her anger dissipated slightly, but it was definitely far from being gone.

When she was almost to the portrait hole she paused trying to compose herself, but when she had no luck with such a task, she gave up with a muttered “bloody ferret.” 

Sighing, she entered the common room. Much to her dismay Ron and Harry were still there, most likely trying to finish the defence against the dark arts essay Snape had given them a while ago. 

The moment the two noticed her presence Ron looked up and said: “hey Hermione could you help us? We were waiting for you to come back becau-'' before he could finish though Hermione cut in with an angry roar “because what?! Your hand bloody cramped?!? You're too tired?!” the two boys looked at her as if she spouted a second head “oh Hermione I'm too tired, I have quidditch tomorrow, can you please do my essay for me?” she said in a whiny voice that didn't sound much like Rons, but it was still quite clear who she was imitating. “Bloody hell Hermione what's gotten into you?” Harry asked, the confusion visible on his face. 

Hermione suddenly realized what she’d done and gasped “oh gosh I’m sorry you guys” they stared at her in shock and confusion. She was so bipolar, you never knew what you were going to get, especially when it came to her emotions. “umm s’alright Mione” Harry replied for both of them. He ran a hand through his messy hair, the gesture suddenly brought the blond-haired git into her mind, and as much as hated to admit it she much preferred his hair over Harry's.

She gasped out loud with the realization that she had just been thinking of how she preferred something Malfoy, to something Harry. 

The boys looked at her quizzically and she blushed scarlet at the scrutiny.

“I .. I think I'll go to bed now,” she said hurriedly, stumbling over some of the words.

As she rushed out of the common room and up to her dorm she heard Ron whisper to Harry “Ginny did something like this last week, said it was her 'time of the month’ or something” he paused then added “do you think it's Hermione's ‘time of the month’? ”

She didn't hear anything else as she rushed into her dorm, she slammed the door with such force that it rattled on its hinges. Her roommates who had been quietly chatting on the bed looked up startled, as it was very unlike Hermoine to be so loud, especially late at night. 

Lavender opened her mouth to say something, but the glare Hermione directed her way stopped her. Pavarti leaned over and whispered something to Lavender, whatever she said made then both lose themselves in a fit of giggles.

Hermione ignored them and proceeded to her bed, once there, she cast a silencing charm. Grateful for the silence, and the fact that she could no longer hear her obnoxious roommates. she let out a loud sigh, and a loud thump could be heard, as she flopped down on the bed, her unruly bushy hair splayed out in a halo around her head.

she then stared at the ceiling, trying in vain to silence the many thoughts running through her brain, eventually, she gave up trying to go to sleep the 'natural way' and grabbed the vial of Dreamless sleep potion from her nightstand, she gagged at the smell and sincerely hoped it didn't taste as bad as the stench that was emitted from the potion as she uncapped it “ugh this better be bloody worth it” she muttered before she downed the vile contents of the vial.


	3. Ferret Fun Time? Not!

The next morning Hermione woke up early, despite having taken the potion the night before she still hadn't slept very well.  
After getting dressed and ready for the day, it was still quite early.  
She decided she wanted to prolong her meeting with Harry and Ron, for she was not looking forward to it in the slightest.  
So instead of waiting to walk to breakfast together like they usually did, she decided to go to the library.  
As she walked through the castle she spotted the tapestry covering the passageway where the events of last night had taken place, although she knew it was quite silly, she wanted to avoid going down it, she was planning on not thinking about anything unpleasant, such as; last night.

Although she instantly regretted her decision when the walk to the library took 10 minutes instead of the regular 5.  
When she got to the library she went directly to the restricted section, she then wandered the aisles exploring the titles, running her hand over each delicate spine as she passed, breathing in the erotic scent of books.

she saw a flash of blond flick around a corner and knew exactly who it was “Draco” she breathed.  
She quickly followed, she knew the corner he had gone down led to a dead end, she didn't know he as waiting, otherwise, she wouldn't have followed him so readily. As much as she hated to admit it,(though never out loud) she was still quite rattled by their last encounter.  
As soon as she rounded the corner she stopped short.  
She gave a tiny gasp as she felt the wood of his wand pressing against her throat, she gulped, looking up she met his eyes, unlike last night, they were now hard and emotionless.

She could feel the fear building up in her gut, but made a point not to show it.  
Although she could have taken a step backwards out of his wands reach, she seemed to be rooted to the spot unable to will her legs to move, she wasn't paralyzed with fear per se it was more her curiosity that kept her where she, as she wanted to know what he was going to say, and how he was going to react.  
So she stood her ground, looking deep into his eyes forcing her face into a confused expression  
“Following me now are we granger? ” he said his voice a low growl.  
This made her shiver but not because of the words, no it was because of how he said them.  
He sneered thinking her reaction was out of fear “I find it funny how you think you belong here” she did not have to fake her confusion for she didn't understand.  
“You know ” he continued “in this library, in this school,” he paused watching her expression closely as he continued once again with “your wand”  
“You bloody bastard” she hissed back glaring at him with such hatred that it was a wonder he wasn't dead.  
“Hermione? That you?”  
The timid sounding voice cut through their intense staring contest, Malfoy raised one perfectly plucked eyebrow smirking.  
Her eyes widened when she recognized the voice as Neville's "yeah Neville it's me, how are you?" Hermione replied in a strained voice, silently praying he wouldn't come looking around the corner for her.  
"I'm fine thanks. I have to find a Herbology book for class. I'll come by in a few then we can walk to the Great Hall together, that ok?"  
Hermione sighed in relief "sounds awesome! see you in a minute Neville" she didn't even have to force her cheerfulness, anything to get away from Malfoy.  
She heard a snort and turned her gaze back to the 'problem' at hand, Malfoy. "What?" she snapped.  
He chuckled then with a sneer said, “you can leave, you know that right? ” she opened her mouth to retort, but he continued with his usual smirk “but no your curiosity gets the best of you” he paused, glancing at her, waiting to see if she was going to disagree, he knew she wouldn't though, and he was always right.  
As predicted she spoke up “yes Malfoy, I am quite curious as to why you have a wand to my throat? In a secluded section of the library.”  
He grinned at this “, ah, but Granger you seem to have forgotten something” she frowned giving him a look that said ‘go on’. “You see” he continued “I didn't ask you to follow me”   
Her face flushed crimson as she realized that she had indeed been the one to follow him, but she composed herself quickly, raising her chin in defiance, she stepped closer to him in the process making the wand dig deeper.  
He stepped closer and leaned in till his mouth was positioned right over her ear, whilst keeping the pressure of his wand against her throat he said in a dark bone-chilling tone “stay out of my business Mudblood” she could smell him, he was so close and she once again found herself in a position of close proximity with Malfoy.

She didn't dare move, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that she was having trouble breathing, the fact that her heart was pounding, the fact that as much as she denied it, it was not fear that made her react this way.

It was him.

She could feel his breath tickling her neck, as he breathed his next words,” now run along to Potter and Weasley, and stay with them ”, then in a growl his next words startled her “if you don't want to get hurt, stay away from me” she quivered involuntarily, he hadn't said those words as a threat, he had said them as a warning.  
“Why?” she whispered once she had finally overcome her shock and inability to speak  
He let out and angrily huffed out sort of sigh against her neck and she felt goosebumps appear.  
“Just listen to me granger” another sigh “your job right now is to keep potter alive” she gasped in shock “but. I..Don-”, but a poke to jugular stopped her “bloody hell, just shut up,” he said exasperation clear in his voice, he pulled away from her, but in no way relieving the pressure of his wand.

He glanced away from her, looking as though he was trying to gather his thoughts.

She took the time to scrutinize him if it was even possible he looked worse. She was just about to comment on his looks when he turned his head, his cold grey eyes, they were emotionless, and they met hers with a piercing gaze.

He slowly removed the wand from her neck. Turning he grabbed a book off the shelf, studied it, then without warning, he pushed past her, shoulder brushing against hers. As he went by she heard him say “stay away Mudblood”.  
And then he was gone. She stood there trying to catch her breath, she was feeling light-headed and woozy.   
Suddenly a hand rested on her shoulder "Hermi-" someone started,  
but whoever it was; was cut off by the unexpected yell Hermione emitted upon the contact.  
"Merlins beard Hermione I honestly didn't mean to startle you!"  
Neville said incredulously. She turned so she was facing him "s-s-sorry Neville, you just gave me a fright is all" he gawked at her for a moment, clearly trying to judge whether she was serious or not.

Finally, after a moment of awkward silence, Neville said: "its alright Hermione" she still looked a little shell shocked, her eyes wide and dilated, and as he studied her some more he noticed a slight blush to her cheeks and the faint mark of Draco's wand (which of course he mistakenly took for a love bite).

A very un-Neville like smirk appeared on his face and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively "Hermione Granger" he started in a chiding voice "have you been snogging in the library?"

At that moment Hermione was very happy to have a brain, she was also very happy she snapped out of her reverie in time and didn't say something stupid like "I wish" or "a girl can dream" or anything along those lines, instead, she answered in a very scolding voice, "preposterous! Neville what on earth would give you that idea?!"

Neville smirk transformed into a grin as he decidedly chose not to answer her question, instead, he proceeded to lead her through the shelves and out the library, walking in the direction of the great hall, "no reason" he finally answered she glanced at him as he continued to grin "no reason at all Hermione" he finished with a wink. she scowled but followed after him as he quickened his pace towards breakfast.  
She sighed dreading the inevitable weird looks of confusion and concern she already knew would be on Harry and Ron's faces.


	4. Stupid Mudblood

When she walked into the great hall, accompanied by Neville, the first thing she saw was Ron stuffing his face with food, eating like a pig. Hermione did nothing to disguise the disgust on her face at the sight. What's worse though was that Harry was doing no better. She quickly walked over plopping down next to Ginny, who much to shock was eating almost as much as Ron (a least she had the decency to use utensils)

"Ermionee can youf pasth da budder" Ron said, his mouth full of food. Hermione lost it, "Ron!" she said scoldingly whilst slapping his sticky hand away from the plate of toast (with a pair of tongs I might add) "you disgusting pig, swallow for Merlin's sake!"

Ron did as he was told, then in a very whiny childlike voice, he said, "Hermione we have quidditch remember?" she blinked, she had forgotten they had a quidditch match today "you know" Ron continued "against Slytherin" they all simultaneously turned to glare at the opposing team. The Slytherins sensing their combined gaze, glared right back, Hermione tried to make eye contact with Malfoy, and in the process, she noticed he was eating (she was secretly quite pleased with this), finally, after glaring at him for a moment, he seemed to sense her gaze and met her glare with one of his own, his gaze was cool, piercing her as if he could see into her soul, she felt her face heat up just a bit, but she convinced herself that the blush was from anger.

As soon as the boys and Ginny were done eating breakfast, they headed down to the Quidditch pitch to change, Hermione stayed back to finish her food, for the Quidditch match didn't start till much later. Someone came and sat next to her, looking up Hermione was greeted with Luna's dreamy smile, " hi Luna, how are you?"

"I'm just wonderful" she answered, turning in her seat to study Hermione "you have a grey aura around your head," she said simply. Hermione let out a little laugh deciding to humour Luna she said " ah yes that explains the headaches I've been having" Luna frowned, "that doesn't seem like a possible side effect'' she responded looking troubled, "oh, must be unrelated" Hermione said quickly, not wanting to be diagnosed with another weird made-up malady or creature, but thankfully Luna dismissed this when Hermione trying to change the subject said, "do you want to head down to the quidditch match with me?" Luna gave an enthusiastic nod.

As they headed towards the pitch they passed the room of requirement, Luna ran a hand along the wall "remember Dumbledore's army?" she asked, wistfulness laced in her tone "yeah" Hermione replied sadly, but fondly.

They both stood there for a little while, lost in the memories from the past year, but their thoughts were interrupted by cruel laughter, they both turned quickly towards the sound (though Luna turned a bit more leisurely). It was Malfoy, he was in his Quidditch gear, broom in hand, he smirked at them. Hermione glared back at him. Luna, next to her just looked on, her signature dreamy smile on her face. Luna was the first to speak, "hello Dragon, it's a lovely day today, good weather for quidditch don't you think? "

Hermione turned to Luna surprised at how civil she was being. Malfoy let out a loud laugh, " a lovely day indeed, Loony" he agreed with a smirk. Malfoy directed a sneer Hermione's way, she glared back with just as much malice, they were caught in an intense staring contest until Luna jumped in saying, "oooh so that's who gave you the grey aura, " They both turned to her; both with confused expressions on there face "so you guys are friends now?" Luna continued, but she said it like a statement; rather than a question. They both stared at her in shock, Malfoy looked more disgusted than shocked, but it was still a shocked expression all the same.

"Ugh, no wonder they call you Loony," Malfoy said with a smirk, shaking his head and brushing off the weird remark, then almost as an afterthought he added " hey Granger, I'll make sure to have Goyle aim a bludger or two at your Weasel boyfriend" he stalked off leaving a spaced out Luna, and a very pissed Hermione in his wake. "Bloody prat" Hermione muttered as he left.

"He's quite charming don't you think?" Luna commented once Malfoy was out of sight, Hermione turned an incredulous look on her face "charming?" she scoffed, shaking her head, "he is anything but charming" Hermione, much to her annoyance, was starting to agree with Malfoy on the fact that Luna may indeed be looney. Luna just smiled and said, "you seem to like him just fine though". "Tolerate" Hermione corrected, "I tolerate him just fine" Luna shrugged "okay" she replied, she started to skip in the direction Malfoy went in.

Draco's POV.

When Draco had seen Granger and her weird looney friend in front of the room of requirement, he had momentarily panicked thinking they had figured something out, although once realizing they hadn't, and were instead just being their weird reminiscent selves, he'd left them. Continuing towards the quidditch pitch.

As much as he tried to deny it, he quite liked Granger, no, not that way! (see denial) He kept trying to convince, and remind himself that she was a Mudblood, that he just couldn't possibly be friends with her (or more than friends). But every time thoughts of her entered his head, he was reminded of her embrace from the night before, he'd never been held like that before; sure Pansy had hugged him, but she terrified him; she was also in love with him, so in other words, her grabbing and groping him was quite annoying. But Granger's arms, Merlin, having those around him felt good, sure she had hugged him because she'd pitied him, but for whatever the reason his body had reacted in a not unpleasant way.

That morning in the library had been awful, the moment he saw her he had wanted nothing more than for her to hold him again, but alas he was a Slytherin, a death eater, and a huge arsehole, so of course, what had happened the night before would never, ever happen again, that much he was sure of. besides he was still conflicted when it came to what he felt about Granger, on one hand, she was annoying, friends with the boy who should have died, a know-it-all, and a Mudblood, but on the other hand, she was kind; and not just in general, she had been kind to him, of all people!

A familiar voice interrupted his thought process "hey Draco you ready for our game today?" it was Marcus Flint, he too; was in his quidditch gear, "yup I'm ready" Draco answered, "you better be" Marcus said menacingly, Draco responded with an exaggerated eye roll and a sneer "have I ever not been ready" he scoffed, but he made sure to walk quickly out of the dressing rooms before Flint could voice his disagreement.

The moment Draco flew onto the field he could hear the cheers, from Slytherin of course, and the ever-present booing from all the other houses. "Probably my last Quidditch match, soak it in" he muttered quietly under his breath to himself. He then forced a smile on his face and went to the middle of the pitch. The game was about to begin. Potter better be prepared to lose.


	5. Malfoy Hot? Not!

Hermione and Luna rushed through the halls passing classrooms in a blur determined to get to the quidditch match not that they would miss it completely but they were a little bit tardy getting to the match because Luna had forgotten her lion hat which she insisted on grabbing for apparently, it prevented Nargles from stealing the snitch, they could hear the cheers of the students and that spurred Hermione to increase her pace, shed convinced herself that the only reason for her haste was because she wanted to she harry and Ron but if she was being honest with herself (which she wasn't being at the moment) she secretly wanted to see Malfoy in action 

Hermione and Luna pushed through several Gryffindors to get to the front of the stands so they could see the match better, they'd missed seeing ginny and harry being announced but got there just in time to hear Lee say “annnnnnd now our keeper from Gryffindor Rooooon weeeeasly ” Hermione cheered just as loud as everyone else and did a little jump when Lunas hat roared right next to her ear.

Everyone's cheers quickly morphed into booing when the Slytherin team started getting announced; it was weird but shed never really listened to Lee saying the Slytherin names before and despite herself she couldn't help but frown at the rude way their names were said; especially Dracos (though he seemed oblivious to it ) “and here comes the bigoted blonde ferret Slytherins seeker. Draco Malfoy" Hermione watched him grinning as he flew onto the field followed by a pissed looking Flint. 

She drowned out Lee's commentary and focused on Draco. He looked determined, she watched him shout something to Harry with a big sneer on his face, Harry's face went red with anger, Ron was nearby and upon hearing what had been said gave Malfoy the finger. Hermione gave a small groan, she knew that thanks to the Slytherin vs Gryffindor rivalry, the game would not be a friendly one.

Before the game started both the teams huddled together for a cheer, she saw Malfoy whisper something to Goyle before turning back to Flint who was gesturing wildly. When the game started she watched in horror as Ron got pelted with bludger after bludger “I thought Malfoy was bluffing when he said he’d tell Goyle to aim bludgers at Ron?!?!” Hermione huffed to luna annoyed. “He seemed quite serious to me” Luna replied with a halfhearted shrug before turning back to the game, ending the discussion.

The game seemed to drag on, and Hermione had never really liked quidditch much so she was silently praying it would be over soon so she could get in some quick studying in before bed. Then Harry spotted the snitch, causing both seekers to streak across the field elbowing each other significantly in an attempt to throw the other off course. 

after the game was over, she headed back to the common room surrounded by a bunch of very happy gingers and one beaming, but still bashful seeker

the moment they stepped into Griffendor tower there was cheering and celebrating, both of which Hermione quickly extracted herself from. Having never been one to enjoy parties much, she headed up to her dorm, (to get some studying done of course).

As she sat there reading the suggested transfiguration text (which she had already read twice before that night) she found her mind wandering, focusing on one thing, Draco. Merlin, she had to stop thinking about him, what was so captivating about him anyway? She pondered this whilst staring at the opened page of the book. Maybe it was the blonde hair or the grey eyes, or maybe it was just the fact that he was handso- "No!" she shouted out loud, she clapped a hand over her mouth feeling self-conscious even though no one was in the dorm, thank Merlin no one was there though, otherwise she would have had to explain her outburst, and she was a terrible liar.

Ugh stupid Griffendors and there crazy party's, she thought bitterly, after attempting to sleep for a good while but being unable to due to the really loud partying going on in the common room. And yes she could always have cast a silencing charm on the door, but currently, that was the farthest thing from her mind. So she rolled out of bed (not gracefully in the slightest) and stumbled down the stairs following the sounds of Firewhiskey induced singing and laughter.   
When she got down the steps she was met with a sight she had not at all wanted to see: Ron and Lavender snogging each other's faces off right at the base of the stairs. That's when she lost it, she walked briskly by the couple and went in search of Harry, she found him talking with Ginny. She walked right up to him grabbed him by the ear and dragged him out the portrait hole and into the empty corridor. 

"Hermione" he whined, but because he was Harry, he didn't look mad he only looked concerned. "oh this is about Ron and Lavender right?" he said softly, when she nodded slightly he continued "you like him right" Hermione opened her mouth to admit the fact that yes, she did fancy Ron, but somehow found herself unable to say it. "I like Ron," she said with a small nod, but she even to her own ears, sounded as if she was trying to convince herself. Harry must have heard the doubt in her voice, and misinterpreted it quite badly "your jealous" he stated

Hermione stepped back crossing her arms over her chest and in a chastising voice replied "Harry I am in no way jealous of Ron" then with a very un-Hermione like smirk she continued " why on Earth would I want to snog Lavender" Harry laughed the sound echoing down the corridor making it sound almost musical " alright" he conceded putting his hands up in an I-give-up-gesture. still laughing quietly he turned and headed back into the common room. Hermione followed close behind, but instead of going back to join the party like Harry, she went back up to her dorm. When she got in she remembered why she had gone down to the celebration in the first place, to shut it down, but instead, she just cast the silencing charm and finally attempted to sleep. The last thought she had before drifting off was something along the lines of, Bloody Malfoy.


	6. Warning or threat?

For the next few days, Hermione, against her usual stubbornness, decided to actually listen to Malfoy and avoid him.

But she was in no way avoiding him because he asked, she was avoiding him because she was confused about how she felt about the git. He had been trying to help her right? Maybe she had misread the entire situation, instead of warning her maybe he was actually threatening her! the thought sent shivers down her spine.

There was a problem with her plan of dodging Draco though, for every time she saw even a fleeting glance of the ferret (or even just blonde hair) her heart would skip a beat. For some weird reason now that she was aware of his presence, he was everywhere!

Earlier that day during potions, when she had been collecting ingredients, she had accidentally brushed shoulders with him and because of this gave a little yelp in shock, her face had gone crimson with embarrassment, but Malfoy had just rolled his eyes and with a sneer said something along the lines of “Mudblood and therefore batshit crazy” which made all his Slytherin peers laugh their heads. The whole ordeal, of course, ended with Ron threatening Malfoy about hurting Hermione, causing her to step in and confess he hadn't actually done anything at all and that she was just jumpy, but of course, for the rest of class, Harry and Ron (like the good friends they are) continually glared in Malfoy's direction.

As much as the glaring in Malfoy's direction was appreciated, Ron and Harry for the life of them could not multitask, resulting in Ron's potion bubbling over and burning a hole in the table.

By the end of class Professor Slughorn had let them know that because of all the drama and focus issues (insert glare at Ron here) next class they would change the seating arrangement.

Later that night in the common room Hermione was doing charms homework (that hadn't even been assigned yet), Harry was doing the Defense Against Dark Arts essay (that had been due days ago), and Ron was lounging on the couch with Lavender in his lap, he was successfully avoiding all school-related priorities.

Hermione noticed that Harry kept glancing at Ron impatiently as if waiting for something.

After another hour or so of this realizing it was getting quite late, Hermione (having finished all of her still yet to be assigned homework) stood up stretching her arms above her head, with a yawn said “okay I think I'm going to head to bed” at her words Harry jumped and giving her a pleading look, he flicked his eyes toward Lavender as if to say “your a girl, make her leave,” Hermione rolled her eyes and sighing softly and in a very polite voice said “Lavender can you leave please?” the girl in question (with great difficulty) pulled her eyes from Ron and looked at Hermione a very annoyed expression on her face, she opened her mouth probably preparing to whine and complain about Rons ‘awful’ friend choices, but Hermione who was not in the mood stated “it's so Harry, Ron and I can talk about Voldemort” both the boys mentioned made a face “I just don't want you to be disturbed is all” Hermione finished in a fake concerned voice.

This tactic seemed to work because Lavender left the room quite quickly, but not before some serious PDA with Ron.

Once she was gone Harry visibly relaxed and got right down to business, directing his attention toward Hermione he asked “during your late-night library excursions have you ever run into Malfoy?” he said this so quickly Hermione almost missed it, but the moment his word registered her blood instantly ran cold and she stiffened.

Harry, always the observer, noticed her change in demeanour, “you have, haven't you?” Hermione deciding on impulse to tell the truth (but not the whole truth) composed herself and answered “yeah but only once, we just bumped into each other in a passage” Harry nodded as if he suspected as much, he looked hopeful when he asked, “ did you see where he went?” Hermione shook her head, “no I didn't see where he went, why do you ask?” she said trying to act nonchalant, but inside her mind was whirring.

Harry hesitated then blurted “ I think he's up to something!” Hermione controlled her impulse to voice her disagreement, and instead frowned, she glanced over at Ron who had started speaking “ do you reckon he's a death eater?” Harry didn't hesitate “I'm sure of it” he stated confidently “I have a gut feeling” Ron nodded as if having a gut feeling made everything true, and although in this case, it might be true, Hermione had no intention of telling them.

"Harry, can I borrow the Marauder's map for a few days?" for some weird reason she wanted to be the one who found out about what Draco was up to, not Ron, not Harry, only her. "sure I guess, what do you need it for?" Harry replied.

Harry was much too trusting for his own good (not that she couldn't be trusted) "Filch has been roaming the corridors a lot lately, I want to be able to slip by him on my way to the library" Harry nodded "okay, do you want it now?" Hermione pondered this for a moment before replying "that would be great Harry, I think I'll go now"

Harry stood up from the couch and headed towards the stairs, "I'll get it, wait here".

When Harry came back he had both the invisibility cloak and the Marauders map with him.  
That was more than Hermione was hoping for "oh thanks Harry" she said whilst taking the items handed to her.

He gave her a small smile in response to her thanks. As she was leaving for the portrait hole Ron yelled after her “stay away from any Snakes tonight Hermione.”  
If only he knew.  
The moment Hermione had left the tower she threw the cloak over herself and took out the map, she had a ferret to catch.


	7. ferrets can be cute but only when asleep

Hermione stared at the map searching for Malfoy, she checked the dungeons first, and sure enough, there was Malfoy.

He wasn't in his common room, instead, he seemed to be headed away from there.

She judged his direction, trying to find the nearest place where she would be able to cross paths with him, finding just the place, she quickly headed towards the stairs that led up from the dungeons, as much as she trusted the map she preferred to be able to see the person she was following.

When she got close to where she assumed Draco would pass, she leaned against the wall right around the corner from the staircase.

She was panting and out of breath, noting how out of shape she was, she decided that starting tomorrow she would jog around the school (more like to the library and back) after all exercise boosted the brain.

Just as she had predicted, Draco ended up walking right by her, but like literally right by her, he had cut the corner so close that his shoulder brushed against the cloak, she could hardly contain the gasp that escaped her lips, but thankfully he didn't hear her, just kept walking.

He was walking quite briskly and was halfway down the hall before Hermione remembered that she planned to follow him.

She hurried after him, but she had disregarded the fact that they were in a deserted hallway, making it so that any step either of them took reverberated loudly off the walls, and in her mad dash to catch up she had inadvertently generated a good bit of noise

Draco stopped in his tracks, he stood there silently for a long time, shoulders tensed, Hermione foolishly decided to take another step towards him.

He must have been waiting for this because he instantly turned on his heel with his wand in hand.

His face was shadowed so she couldn't see his eyes, she held her breath as he scanned the space "who's there?" his voice a harsh whisper, Malfoy tilted his head ever so slightly, the light from his wand illuminating his face, his gaze swept back and forth in a paranoid manner, she could have sworn that his eyes met hers for a brief second before moving on to study the rest of the corridor.

After a few moments, he seemed to decide that no one was there but still lowered his wand slowly as if he was afraid that someone would just pop out and hex him.

After what seemed like forever, he finally turned and resumed his fast walk away.

She stood there in silence holding her breath for a few moments as he steadily got farther and farther away, she couldn't help but notice how graceful his gait was, it was as if he owned the place.  
She followed him at a distance, afraid to alert him of her presence. After a few minutes of walking, she figured out where they were going, the room of requirement. Why would Malfoy need to go there?

They entered a spacious corridor, the last one before Malfoys assumed destination, if she had thought the earlier hallway had been echoey, she had not been prepared for this one.

She paused before entering, Draco was already to the end about to turn the corner and out of sight, she'd have to wait for him to be farther away before pursuing further, she slowly made her way across the stone floor flinching every time her footfalls made a noise.

Every second that ticked by she was sure Malfoy was just going to peer around the corner holding his wand up, demanding to know who was stalking him, but thankfully he never did.

By the time she had turned the corner; being very careful because of how close he was, she was too late, Hermione watched his blonde hair disappear behind the door which slammed shut upon his entry, she dashed towards the opening noisily, not caring if he heard her, but the large door had disappeared by the time she got there.

After an outburst of grumbled profanities, she started pacing, back and forth, again and again, trying in vain to get into the room. The problem though was that Hermione hadn't the faintest idea what Malfoy had required, meaning that she'd just have to keep guessing.

After about 20 minutes of mindless pacing, her legs were getting tired, and she realized it was absurd to continue.

So she sat down situating herself against the wall facing where the entrance to the room was. She was hoping to wait Malfoy out, after all, around 30 minutes had passed so he had to be coming out sooner or later, right? 

After only 5 minutes of sitting silently and wondering what he was doing, Hermione had gotten bored and was really regretting not bringing the transfiguration book she had been reading earlier.

She impatiently checked her watch, and was surprised to find it was getting quite late; she could already feel her eyes starting to get heavy. A little nap couldn't hurt, right?

(A/N tip for readers, when stalking someone do not fall asleep, it never ends well)

Malfoy was taking this long already so surely she had time to close her eyes for a bit.

Before she finally nodded off Hermione promised herself she would wake before Malfoy left.

_____

Hermione startled awake to the sound of voices, 'Malfoy' was her first thought, but was disappointed to open her eyes only to find out it was just Filch talking to himself whilst passing by, did the man ever sleep?

She checked the time and saw that it was about 4:30 in the morning, an hour before she usually got up (she was a morning person, also with hair as crazy as hers she needed that extra hour).

Disappointed that she'd missed Malfoy, she headed back to her house.

Hermione was quite disgruntled, having just spent the night asleep on the cold floor.

Her back was aching and she was feeling a bit grumpy, she sincerely hoped that her friends would take the hint and not bother her, for she was not in the mood, (oh poor Harry and Ron they never manage to take the hint.) She walked past the library and stopped, Harry and Ron would be suspicious if she didn't have a book, especially after (according to them) spending the whole night in the library.

Hermione tiptoed in knowing she wasn't supposed to be there this early.

As soon as she was amidst the bookshelves she relaxed and quickened her pace, heading once again for the restricted section.

She weaved through the maze of aisles and towards her favourite secret nook, deciding that because she had a few hours before class, she might as well get some light reading done.

When she got there she was surprised to see someone else was already occupying the small desk, they were facing away, their back to her, shoulders hunched slightly. Hermione, not wanting to intrude, was about to turn around and find someplace else to sit when she realized with a gasp that it was Draco.

He didn't notice her presence and she walked closer stopping a few feet away, watching the slow rise and fall of his back, she could hear a faint nose whistle and watched as his mussed up hair would flutter in the air with each breath only to float back down before rising again, the movement was hypnotic really.

She crept ever closer and continued to stare at him, he looked so peaceful, with his face no longer in a permanent scowl and oh Merlin he looked cute, like really cute, she could just imagine Ginny's squeal if she saw, and she resisted the urge to brush the hair out of his eyes.

She found herself taking another step in his direction and paused, everything had gone silent, the only thing she could still hear was the blondes soft breathing before she had been able to hear the wind against the windows outside, and she realized with a start that Malfoy must have put a silencing charm around him, probably so he could sleep.

she knew nothing good would come from being there when he woke, not wanting to take the chance of waking him she inched back till she was out of range of the silencing charm.

As she was stepping away her foot hit something, and upon further inspection, she saw that it was a small stack of books, 3 to be exact, and being the nosey person she is, Hermione picked them up studying each of the titles, the first one was quite heavy and old looking, the title read " Fixing Dark Artifacts for Dummies, 450 catalogued examples and blueprints" her brow furrowed, why on Earth would he be reading this? 

She placed it back where it had been and moved on to the next book, it was a thin paperback old and written in a different language, ancient runes to be exact, she opened it and nearly dropped the book, it radiated dark magic, and a sense of despair washed over her, she immediately slammed it shut. Whatever magic had been used ceased, and she looked over at Malfoy, wondering what the bloody hell he was doing with such a wretched evil thing.

A little shaken she hastily put it down in its earlier place.

The last book was thankfully not as sinister as the rest had been, it was a very worn advanced Potions volume, she wondered why Malfoy would have such a battered old textbook, didn't he pride himself on always having the best newest stuff? It seemed so unlike him to own such a thing.

Judging from the texture there was a sealant charm placed on it, but whoever had cast it had done so after the damage had already been done.

Tons of pages were dog-eared (the horror!) and Hermione found herself opening it, she was surprised to find that the book was practically filled with notes in the margins, as well as over the text at some points, she knew it was Malfoys having seen his penmanship before, and upon further inspection, noticed that the writing seemed to get neater and neater further into the book. She stopped at a random page and started reading the tidy notes scattered across the paper, and was taken aback when she found that almost all of them had absolutely nothing to do with Potions. Instead, the notes were questions, thoughts, observations, and even a few reminders one read " Owl Father to inform him of the Apple quality, I suspect the house-elves are plotting to kill me." she snorted loudly after reading this, his obsession with the fruit was peculiar, to say the least. (A/N there was also a lot of heart encircled granger+malfoy scribbles...Nah jk I wish)

Suddenly she heard the faint fluttering of clothing, Malfoy was stirring.

She quickly jumped up scampering away, grateful she still had the invisibility cloak, she threw it on.

She watched as Malfoy stretched, a small exasperated sigh escaping his lips.

Hermione felt guilty watching him when he didn't know she was there, after all, what if he decided to change? She felt her face heat up at the thought, before berating herself with the reminder that they were currently in a library, making it highly unrealistic for him to change.

She regarded him gathering up things, and watched as he frowned when sifting through the books as if something were missing. Hermione realized that she still had his potions journal/book. She silently cursed her stupidity knowing that she'd have to find a way to get it back to him.

Thankfully Malfoy just shrugged and continued packing up.

The moment he turned his back, not taking her eyes off him, she blindly reached behind her and grasped a random book off the shelf before stuffing it into the pocket of her robes, she wanted to at least have something to show to Ron and Harry, after all, they did think she stayed the night.

Malfoy had packed up and was leaving, Hermione waited a minute before leaving too. It was still early so she had a bit of time to get ready before meeting up with her friends to go to breakfast.


	8. stupid book

When Hermione got to the common room, she was instantly bombarded with questions from Ron and Harry. " Were you in the library?" Ron asked. "it's not the first time" Hermione snapped rolling her eyes, boys could be so stupid, of course, she had been in the library where else would she have been.   
She tried to brush by them, hoping to avoid their concern, heading towards her dorm. "come Mione '' Ron whined, "at least show us the book you got" Hermione suppressed a small groan, and wandered over to the sitting area.  
The boys followed close behind, they waited while she fumbled for the book she had stuffed in her robes earlier.  
Finally freeing the book from the fabric, she plopped it down on the table, not bothering to look at it as she fibbed "it's very interesting and educational, I'm getting a lot of inspiration from it and umm- '' that's when she saw her friends expressions, Ron's face was a mixture of horror and disgust, she scowled what's his problem? Meanwhile, Harry had his fist in his mouth trying in vain to control his laughter, and upon seeing Ron's face completely lost it.   
"Mione don't kid with us like that!" *wheeze* "kay?" Harry finished between bouts of snorts and giggles.   
Hermione scowled, "I'm not kidding, I love-" she abruptly stopped, having been just about to read the title out loud, but stopped herself once she realized what it was.  
"Oh" was all she managed to choke out, for the book she had foolishly grabbed blindly from the shelf, was the one book Hermione had not only always secretly been eyeing but had also vowed never to be caught reading, "Love Potions, & Seductive Charms, Your Wizard Won't Know What Hit Him!"  
Hermione could feel her face burning with humiliation, this morning was not off to a good start. She began frantically scanning the area, looking for someone nearby, anybody who could possibly get her out of her current situation.  
That's when Ginny decided to walk by.  
Hermione waved her over all the while giving her a panicked look that screamed 'help me,' thankfully the girl got the hint and rushed over to the aid of her fellow female. Having seen Hermione's predicament, Ginny did the only thing that made sense.  
"Oh!" she exclaimed "you got it for me! Thanks, Hermione" before snatching it off the table. Hermione mouthed a quick thank you, and in return, the ginger nodded and winked. She was just about up to the dorms when Ron snapped to his senses.  
"GINNY GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Ron roared, the girl gave a fearful glance over her shoulder, and upon seeing her angry overprotective brother giving chase, ran the rest of the way up the steps, all the while laughing hysterically.  
Ron stormed back to where Hermione and Harry stood trying to hide their smiles "you got that for her?!?" He asked Hermione anger and confusion on his face. "well honestly it's not that absurd" Hermione supplied with a half shrug, and it wasn't really, Ginny was always talking about boys, and she was definitely not the innocent girl her brothers thought she was.  
"Not that absurd?! No way in Hell Ginny's reading that shite!" Ron shrieked, before turning to pointedly address Harry, "why are you laughing? It's not funny!" He was acting like a child and it was quite amusing.  
Harry with a grin on his face, just snorted before voicing Hermione's thoughts "Ron, she's not that innocent" his smile slipped though when he noticed that his friend's face was the same colour as his hair, "are you calling my sister a slag?!?"  
Harry's jaw dropped and he quickly backpedalled "n-no of course not I just ummm" he looked to Hermione for help, but she was already heading in the direction of the dorms, she didn't fancy having to partake in their argument, besides she still had to shower before breakfast.

"You owe me. Big time" Ginny announced the moment Hermione entered the dorm, she had situated herself on Hermione's bed and was twirling her wand through her hair. Hermione grimaced when she noticed that the redhead hadn't taken her shoes off before lying on the bed, but decided to disregard it. Hermione scowled at the offending book, Ginny had placed it on the nightstand, it was right next to the empty vial of sleep potion from the other day. Suddenly she was struck with an idea, "hey Ginny?" Hermione hummed still staring at the book; she was no longer scowling. The girl sat up, a grin on her face, "I know that look" she exclaimed excitedly, " what look?" Hermione huffed, feigning innocence,  
"The one Fred and George get when they're planning something" Ginny replied knowing, "are you thinking what I'm thinking," Hermione said gesturing to the book. Ginny raised an eyebrow mischievously "enlighten me" 

When Hermione got to the Great Hall she took her seat next to Harry.  
She wasn't hungry, but still grabbed a piece of toast so her friends wouldn't be concerned. Harry elbowed her "Ron's keeps looking at Ginny" he whispered with a grin, she rolled her eyes but watched as Ron kept sparing glances at his sister as if she would suddenly do something inappropriate, like start snogging Neville; the person she was currently talking to.  
It was clear Ginny knew that she was being watched, the girl turned to Hermione "just one drop is what the book said, right?" she asked making sure her voice carried over to Ron, "yup that's what the book said" Hermione confirmed.  
"is she talking about what I think she's talking about?"Harry whispered in her ear sounding a little concerned.   
"Shhh, don't worry just watch" Hermione hissed in a hushed voice, patting his shoulder gently in a reassuring gesture, all the while not even glancing at him.  
They watched as Ginny, with a sly smirk, made a big show of searching her pockets, then taking out a small pink vial unstopping it and pouring it into her Pumpkin juice.   
Hermione couldn't contain her grin, watching Ron's wide eyes and open mouth as he discerned what his sibling was doing.   
Ginny then casually stood up and made her way over to Dean, her current boyfriend, whispered something in his ear, then handed him the glass, "Dean don't drink that!!!" Ron shouted, he lunged across the table and smacked the glass out of his roommates' hand, the glass shattered upon impact with the floor, the contents spattered everywhere.   
Everyone in the Great Hall went silent, they were all staring at the Gryffindors now, wondering what was going on. Once the shock and Ron's embarrassment was over, conversations started up again, and the rest of the hall turned back to their meals.   
"Mate, what in Merlin's name was that for?" Dean exclaimed, he was in on the joke and trying not to smile clearly enjoying the wide array of emotions displayed on Ron's face.  
"she," Ron said, pointing a finger at Ginny "was trying to poison you with a love potion"   
Hemione couldn't contain her giggles anymore, neither could Ginny based on the loud howling coming from her direction.  
"It was a joke Ron" she explained between bouts of laughter, Ron just stared at her in disbelief, anger and betrayal dancing across his features.  
He abruptly pushed up from the table and stormed out of the Great Hall. Hermione stood up about to follow, but Harry put a hand on her arm "let me handle this," he said, then as an afterthought added, "Potions starts soon, you might want to head down, we'll meet you there."  
Hermione's mood instantly soured with the reminder of potions, ‘ugh more Malfoy’ she thought sourly.  
As she left the Hall she noticed that Malfoy wasn't at the Slytherin table, she briefly considered bringing him a piece of toast or an apple, but dismissed the notion with the reminder that he was a grown boy and he could take care of himself, she need not pity him.


	9. potions ugh

She walked into Potions early (like usual) and was met with the sight of all her fellow classmates, not at their work tables, and instead were milling around chatting quietly, a quick glance at the front of the class confirmed that Slughorn was there and seemingly aware of the situation.

She frowned, but headed over to where Harry and Ron were standing, their heads close together and based on the looks they kept sending the Slytherins' way she assumed they were talking about Malfoy. Thank goodness Ron seemed to have gotten over the incident from the morning, for now at least.

As she walked over she looked at the professor again and not looking where she was going bumped right into none other than the Slytherin prince himself, Hermione's face hit his chest and she got a strong whiff of his cologne it was different, this time it was a nice blend of cinnamon, firewood, and the ever-present Apple.

As soon as she made contact she couldn't help but note how hard and muscular it was, "watch where you're going bloody Mudblood" he said taking hold of her shoulders and righting her before pushing past and heading to where the rest of his house where Pansy was waving him over.

"Alright class," Slughorn said getting their attention "as many of you remember," there was a bit of a pause well he shuffled around his desk trying to squeeze through the gap between the wall and desk, wheezing slightly he repeated his previous sentence, "as many of you remember from last class, there will be a new seating arrangement" there were many grumbles following his words, "and I think that this is a great opportunity to promote house unity" the grumbling had evolved into outraged whispers between students, having caught on to the commotion Slughorn promptly clapped his hands loudly "now if you would all listen we can get this over with and start on the lesson" everyone quieted considerably not eager to get on the man's bad side.

Hermione watched as the man waved his wand at the blackboard and writing started to appear. It was a slow process and the students waited in anticipation for their names, it was the Gryffindors first; their names filling up one side of the board with the Slytherins coming shortly after.

Hermione didn't dare look at the board too afraid of what it might show. Instead, she closed her eyes and quickly sent a prayer to Merlin, 'not Malfoy. Not Malfoy' she continued the chant in her head.

When she opened her eyes and reluctantly looked at the bored searching for her name, and breathed a sigh of relief, there it was "Granger" situated right next to "Zabini", granted the guy was still a Slytherin prat, but at least he wasn't a ferret.

There was a loud protest of " Oh bloody hell no, there's no way I'm partnering with him!'' It was Ron, she followed his gaze to the board and saw what had caused the outburst: Weasley and Malfoy, what's worse though was that on the chart their worktable was placed directly behind her and Zabini's.

She glanced over at the blond to gauge his reaction, he looked pissed, to say the least.

"Excuse me professor, but the Weasel and I are not on the same academic level" he stated this calmly, but his jaw was clenching, it was clear he was trying to control his temper, "surely you can't do this, it will jeopardize my grades" Hermione frowned, as much as she hated to admit it, Malfoy was right. she debated whether or not to pitch in but decided not to, besides the boys certainly had it under control.

Since it wasn't her problem Hermione made her way over to her new worktable, laying her stuff down in a neat row. Zabini came over a moment later and proceeded to haphazardly throw his belongings onto the table, the textbooks made a loud bang upon contact and Hermione emitted a little squeak and flinched.

Blaise looked as though he were about to say something-probably an insult-but thankfully he never got the chance, for Slughorn had once again clapped his hands loudly; demanding their attention. "We'll be brewing the Draught of the living death" he waved his wand at the blackboard and the previous writing disappeared, to be replaced with the potion name and the page to find it on.

"You may start," he waved his hand in a dismissive gesture before waddling back to his desk. Hermione shot up like a rocket, already heading over to the cabinet to get the ingredients.

She had forgotten her wand on her desk, and instantly regretted it when she saw that the Sopophorous beans were situated on the top shelf far out of her reach. Grumbling to herself, she was just about to start attempting to grab it when someone elbowed in next to her, she watched as a pale hand reached up and encircled a container of beans.

"move it Mudblood other people need to get ingredients too" Malfoy snarled, stalking off, but not before roughly shoving a container of beans into her hand. She stood there dumbfounded and found herself glancing around wondering if anyone else had just witnessed this weird act of kindness.

She stumbled back to her workstation and started prepping the area, setting out each ingredient, and glancing at her textbook every few seconds to make sure she had everything laid out in the correct order.

She heard an annoyed huff coming from behind and angled her body ever so slightly so that she could view Malfoy in her peripheral, he had already arranged all his materials correctly and was searching through his bookbag, "Blaise?" he drawled, "have you seen my Potions journal?" he acted as though it didn't bother him, but Hermione could swear she saw a flash of panic in his eyes before his cool calm collected mask fell back into place. "nope," his friend replied with a shrug, "but here borrow mine," he chucked his textbook over his shoulder, hard, without even looking, Hermione was surprised when Malfoy caught it effortlessly, must be his seeker reflexes. "Blaise Zabini," she scolded "you can't just throw textbooks across the room" he just scoffed before turning to Malfoy, and in a very girly voice sang "wow Draky, I think she cares about you" The blond just snorted in response and began pretending to dry-heave into his cauldron.

As Hermione was cutting up some roots a sudden thought struck her, "Malfoy have you done this potion before?" she asked glancing sidelong at him, he looked a little confused by her question, "no Granger I have not," he answered irritatedly before turning his attention back to cutting his own roots clearly thinking her questioning was over.

"Really?" she said, the blond looked up exasperated "yes Granger, really. Now is there a reason for your stupid questions?" Hermione fumed, Merlin he was a prat.

"Yes there is a reason" she snapped, "how else would you have lined up your ingredients in the proper order without using the book or having done it before?" she stopped cutting and placed her full attention on the Slytherin, but the boy didn't even look up just drawled, "its simple Mudblood."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ron bristle at the insult, "you see you don't need the book" he continued his eyes flicked up to see if she was paying attention, she was, "it's just a matter of knowing the potency and effects of the different ingredients."

He was about to say more when Ron groaned loudly, "Merlin shut up, you sound like Hermione."

Both turned to glare at the ginger, Hermione because she actually wanted to hear what the ferret had to say, and Malfoy because Ron had just compared him to a Mudblood.

Both their faces morphed into shock though when they realized what he was doing.

"Ron! What in Merlin's name are you eating?" Hermione exclaimed at the same time as Malfoy roared, "None of this is edible you wanker!"


	10. Stupid Karma

Ron just stared at them dumbly, his mouth stuffed with who knows what, but then his eyes widened when he registered what Malfoy had said.  
The ginger promptly turned and spat the contents of his mouth into his and Malfoys shared cauldron."  
The added ingredient caused the boys' potion to bubble up and emit some very toxic smelling fumes.  
"look what you did, you bloody idiot!" Malfoy spat angrily, his face contorted in disgust, Ron didn't hear him though for he immediately started throwing up his breakfast all over the floor.  
Malfoy scampered around the worktable so as not to get splattered, he was feeling a little nauseous himself, and a little lightheaded, probably from the fumes. He knew for a fact he looked ill too, for Granger was giving him a concerned look, he shot her a withering glare which she returned with equal malice.  
He focused his attention on Professor Fattypants, Merlin; he hated that man, taking his Godfather's position as Potions master, the nerve. Professor Fattypants was making his way over to them at a sickeningly slow pace, Draco could feel his blood boiling with barely suppressed rage, his vision blackened for a moment and he blindly reached out grabbing the edge of the desk.  
"Professor Slughorn! I think the fumes are toxic“ the know-it-all informed.  
”No shite Mudblood" He grumbled, blinking black spots away, out of the corner of his eye, he could see the Gryffindor covering her mouth with the edge of her robes.  
"Ms. Granger, Mr. Potter, please help escort Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy to the infirmary. It appears that they have been exposed to the sleeping draught, whatever ingredient was added must have altered the effects"  
When neither Harry nor Hermione moved Slughorn sighed, "10 points from Gryffindor for improper potions etiquette, and another 5 for not following instructions," he paused, "that was your key to go," he indicated when they still hadn't moved. 

Normally Draco would've fought against going to the hospital wing, insisting that he was fine, but he was feeling too cruddy to even get the words out, he didn't feel nauseous anymore, probably due to the lack of food to puke up.  
He felt someone gently take hold of his arm and start guiding him towards the door and out of the room, he wanted to pull away but was having too much trouble focusing on anything he was so dizzy.  
The person's grip on his arm tightened "you probably wouldn't be feeling this bad if you had eaten something for breakfast" Hermione scolded gently.  
He glanced in her direction, her face swimming in and out of focus "shuddup Mudblood" he slurred stumbling slightly. Hermione promptly smacked him on the back of the head, hard.  
“This wouldn't have happened if you were paying attention to what your partner was doing” the smack on the head and that accusation was enough to snap Draco back to his senses.  
“Are you bloody barmy woman?” he snapped, shaking his head slightly to clear the lingering dizziness, “that asshat goes and eats non-edible potion ingredients, and you're blaming me?”  
Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation, she turned to Harry who was holding Ron up, watching their argument with a scowl, she could sense her friend's bitterness towards the Slytherin.  
“Harry! Get Ron to the infirmary immediately! Just look at him!” she exclaimed in earnest, gesturing at Ron who was currently unconscious, but swaying with a big stupid grin on his face, it was a little disturbing.  
Harry frowned clearly about to argue about leaving her alone with the ferret, but after almost dropping Ron, decided that his male best friend was the priority at the moment.  
He shuffled away but no one could deny that the glare he directed at Malfoy wasn't that of pure contempt. Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend's overprotectiveness, boys were so silly, she could take care of herself perfectly fine.  
She turned to gaze at Malfoy; he was now pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes squeezed shut, and face in a frown.  
“Stop staring and just say it” he grumbled, shaking his head like a dog as if to clear it, he then headed down the corridor at a fast pace, Hermione hurried to catch up. How he knew she was staring and about to scold him, Hermione had no idea.  
Since he was expecting her to lecture him, Hermione decided to go the opposite route: kindness (but fake of course; he is a brat after all)  
“Does your head still hurt? How are you feeling? Do you nee-” she stopped talking when he abruptly stopped walking resulting in her running into him, he turned slowly, that's when she saw his expression, you would have thought he’d eaten a bug or something, his face was that of disgust and confusion.  
"Sod off Mudblood" he muttered once he'd regained his composure.  
Hermione couldn't help it. She started giggling uncontrollably, why she was laughing she didn't really know, maybe it was the fumes from the potion combined with Malfoys uncomfortableness with the situation, yeah that's the reason.  
"Bad enough I'm stuck being escorted by a Mudblood, but does she have to be mental?" he complained, which of course, only made her laugh harder.  
Finally, having had enough of her laughter he spun around, grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and shook her violently, she let out a little squeak in response.  
"what's your problem?" he roared in her face, then he sneered, "guess was I right all along about Mudbloods being batshit crazy" she rolled her eyes, his digs at her were pathetic today.  
"I can't even believe they let muggles like you into this school" he spat, "Dumbledore's bloody mental tainting Hogwarts halls by letting worthless Mudbloods such as yourself attend,"  
His insults worked their magic for she had stopped laughing. Their faces were so close eyes locked in an intense staring contest.  
Hermione could feel her rage bubbling up to the surface, how dare he insult her.  
An angry look crossed her face, "at least I'm not a heartless death eater with no future other than a life in Azkaban with his sorry excuse for a father," she said coldly  
Draco visibly stiffened at her words.  
She continued, unable to stop herself, "you think you're so high and mighty coming from a rich Pureblooded family."  
His eyes narrowed menacingly, daring her to go on, she did.  
"You don't deserve to be at this school either!" Hemione shouted, getting riled up.  
"You deserve to go rot in Azkaban like the rest of your family. Trust me when I say no one will miss you at Hogwarts.  
You-you-" she couldn't finish, the hurt in his eyes pained her as he stepped back, roughly shoving her away from him before fleeing down the corridor in the direction of the dungeons.  
Hermione stood there in shock going over what she had said in her head and regretting every word. It was karma really; insult someone so much that you feel more pain after hurting them, then you did when they hurt you.  
She couldn't apologize though, Malfoy would never, so why should she?


	11. Kill Him? No Harry Just Maim Him!

Hermione, knowing Malfoy wouldn't be there, made her way to the hospital wing. Despite his stupidity, Ron still was her friend, she needed to check on him.

When she got there, madame Pomfrey escorted her over to where Ron and Harry were. Harry looked up when she entered, she must've had a scowl on her face, for he instantly stood up crowding her space.

"What happened? Did he hurt you? Argh, that evil ferret, I'm gonna kill him! Where is he? Why ar-" Hermione held up a hand, signalling him to stop, "Harry calm down, I'm fine. Seriously" she insisted.

Harry nodded, but still didn't look convinced, "Are you sure? I can g-" exasperated Hermione cut in, "Harry James Potter. I. Am. Fine." her friend took a step back, hands up in surrender.

He opened his mouth about to say more but Hermione interjected, "nothing happened honestly if there was an actual problem I would tell you" harry studied her then grinned, "so there was a problem" Hermione frowned about to object, but the brunette continued, "it just wasn't an actual problem" he grinned triumphantly as if he had just cracked the code. Shaking her head Hermione pushed past him to sit in the chair next to Ron's bed.

He looked peaceful and was out cold with (thankfully) no more swaying and creepy smiles. She patted his hand gently before straightening up and turning back to Harry.

"what did madame Pomfrey say?" her friend shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, "wasn't really listening" he mumbled.

Hermione sighed, it was kinda unfortunate that this was the boy the wizarding world was counting on to defeat Voldemort, he couldn't even listen to a nurse's diagnosis.

Over the next few days, Hermione made a point of avoiding Malfoy, for real this time. She didn't glance at him in the hallways, she definitely didn't acknowledge him during potions. Thankfully Slughorn concluded that pairing the Gryffindors and Slytherins up was not at all productive and had changed the seating plan back to the way it was, with a few adjustments of course, as she was now placed with Dean.

Dean was an okay partner, but not the most distinguished potions student. He always forgot which ingredient was which (how that was possible when all materials were labelled was beyond her.) But having Dean as a partner was much preferred to Seamus, who was almost subject to being her partner. The boy somehow manages to blow everything up, definitely not the best for her potions mark.

Hermione was sitting alone in the common room studying. She was ahead in all her classes, so was rereading her personal favourite: 'Hogwarts A History.' It was getting late so she started to pack up, placing her quills in their case, as she did this she noticed another book sticking out of her bag. It was Malfoy's potion journal, she'd completely forgotten about it. Even though she hated him, Hermione couldn't help feeling just a tad bit guilty about holding onto it. It was his property after all, and she had practically stolen it, intentional or not.

As Hermione thought of ways to discreetly return the Slytherins book she thumbed through the pages unable to quelch her curiosity. "What?" she wondered aloud, the book was utterly blank, not one word written in the margins. Not one!

Her mind was going through all the possible ways the writing could have vanished, how on earth had he done it? "Finite incantum" she murmured hoping to undo whatever enchantment was hiding the tidy scrawl, she waited a beat, nothing. "Specialis revelio" still nothing.

Hermione scrutinized the book, how had she been able to read it before?

"Of course" she sighed closing the book, there must be a proximity charm on the ink, making it so that that stuff written would only be visible within a few meters of Malfoy, smart prat. That was how she had been able to read it earlier. She wondered what the big deal was with his journal, the only things in it were pretty harmless, definitely not worthy of a proximity charm. But nonetheless, this was Malfoy so of course, he would like to keep his thoughts private.

"Ron! Hermione!" Harry called running breathlessly into the common room, he looked distraught and Hermione felt a pang of fear. " what happened?" she asked, guiding Harry over to the couch.

Harry glanced around the room warily, making sure no one could overhear before answering, "Malfoy, I was right, he's up to something"

Hermione's ears perked up at the name.

"What did he do this time? " Ron groaned. "well I don't know yet," Harry said sheepishly," but I know for a fact that he was the one who cursed Katie" Hermione's eyes widened, "are you sure Harry? that's quite a big accusation to make" her friend just nodded.

"positive, but-" he hesitated, before blurting out his next words in a rush, "I may have cursed him with an unknown curse that I found in a book."

Ron slapped his friend on the back then let out a whoop, "now that's what I'm talking about! That little bugger got what he deserved"

Harry grimaced, looking a little guilty, "Harry" Hermione started calmly "what did the curse do to him?" Ron had fallen silent, seemingly having noticed that his reaction had not exactly been appropriate for the situation.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, before mumbling, almost inaudibly "it may or may not have caused him to bleed, a lot. " Hermione slapped a hand over her mouth in horror, poor Malfoy (not that she cared or anything.)

"Harry" she stated shakily, "you need to get rid of that book" her friend's face fell but he nodded.

The moment Harry left with Ron to get rid of the book, Hermione raced up the stairs to her dorm almost tripping over her own feet to get to the map and cloak. Her dormmates weren't there so Hermione threw the cloak over her shoulders the moment she had the silvery fabric in her grasp.

She hurried back down the steps and out the portrait hole. As she ran, Hermione spared a glance down at the map, her suspicions confirmed, she headed for the hospital wing.


	12. Ugh Not PalmTree Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just have to mention that Draco has absolutely no idea what Pomfrey's name is so he'll be calling her Palmtree and other names similar to that, the reason for this being that I always have the feeling that Draco would be the kind of student to not bother with learning lesser teachers/faculty members names, I'm sorry if you don't like this but I just found it really funny and just couldn't resist.  
> also, thanks for reading

Hermione found herself yet again running in the direction Malfoy was. Funny how she was running towards the one person she was aiming to avoid.

By the time she got there, Hermione was out of breath and completely second-guessing herself. Draco wouldn't want to see her! No way. Why was she even here? She had absolutely no reason to be that's for sure.

Hermione stood motionless in the entryway, "last chance to turn back and forget this ever happened." She murmured softly to herself, knowing that there was no bloody way she would ever back down.

Finally, after gathering all her Gryffindor courage, Hermione made her way in. She was still covered in the invisibility cloak, having decided to not alert the boy of her presence. After all, she was only going to check on him and make sure he was okay (not that she cared).

The infirmary was empty except for one bed, which was shielded by a curtain for privacy. Hermione slowed her pace and controlled her breathing, bracing herself for what she might see, would he out cold? Would he be awake and ready to fight? Or maybe just delirious on pain meds. Secretly, Hermione hoped for the latter.

Hermione slowly pushed back the curtain cautiously, not wanting to wake the sleeping Slytherin. Hermione gasped in relief when she saw that he was asleep.

She took a few steps in, heading over to the bedside table. When she got there, she stopped, once again taking in the sight of the sleeping Malfoy. Lying on top of the covers, he was shirtless, with white bandages wrapped around his midsection. She averted her eyes, feeling her face heat up, Merlin couldn't he just put on a shirt?

Hermione felt her gaze unwillingly drift to his left forearm where the dark mark should be, and saw that someone had wrapped a bandage over that too, it must have been Snape, as Harry had said he was the one to take him here. She mentally stored that information away in her: things that prove Snape is evil and a death eater list.

The faint light from the moon through the window glinted off Malfoy's hair, making his face all the more paler. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he was much too gaunt.

Hermione forced herself to look away once more.

She felt a pang of anger, didn't his friends notice he was suffering? Weren't housemates supposed to help each other? She pushed those thoughts away, no use worrying about what went on in Slytherin, it wasn't her business anyway.

Hermione knew that she had to leave, as she had been there much too long already. She quickly plopped Malfoys potions journal down on the bedside table, flinching at the small noise it made on contact. Hermione quickly turned and sped out of the curtained-off zone, rushing out of the infirmary. Not caring anymore if anyone was alerted of her presence.

Draco POV

Draco woke with a start but didn't dare move. Someone was coming, their shuffling footfalls loud against the hard stone floor. He could hear the faint rustling of cloth, his mind instantly went to Potter. But as he listened closer, he realized that the person was much too light on their feet to Potter.

That boy couldn't be stealthy if his life depended on it, it really was a miracle the Dark Lord hadn't killed him yet.

Draco heard the curtain being pulled back and tensed somewhat. He heard a small feminine gasp, it had to be Granger who else would be sneaking around the castle this late.

He heard her shuffle closer, no doubt examining him, he could practically feel her eyes roaming his body.

At first, he felt uncomfortable with how long she was standing there unmoving. But then he reminded himself of how attractive he was, of course, no girl could resist his charm, not even Granger.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever she moved once more, he heard something hit the table before the Griffendor seemed to almost race out. Just as she was opening the curtain, Draco peeled an eye open, sure enough, she was invisible.

Draco waited until her receding footsteps could no longer be heard before shooting upright in bed. He groaned at the pain of the movement, probably should have listened to that Medi witch Palmtree-or whatever her name was-when she had been explaining his condition.

Draco turned his attention to the nightstand, immediately noticing the new addition. His potions journal, the one he had been looking for. The one that had been missing for over a week. The one that Granger had stolen, that little brat.

He snatched it off the table cradling it in his arms, it had been a gift from his godfather Severus, he'd gotten it just before leaving for Hogwarts his first year. At first, Draco had been disappointed, because what kind of kid, (besides Hermione) wanted a Potions textbook as a gift?

But he had soon come to cherish the book, from the moment he'd started reading it he'd been sucked in. Even at such a young age, Draco had found Potions so fascinating, it was a stroke of pure genius that Snape had assumed such a thing. Draco had soon begun using the book as something of a diary. And had quickly started filling it with all kinds of notes on lessons and reminders and-.

That's when his eyes widened, bollocks what if Granger had seen what he'd written about her? No, he reassured himself, it wasn't possible, he had the charm on the book, there is no way she'd read it. Even if she had somehow managed to break the enchantment, hopefully, she hadn't read all of it. Maybe she hadn't come across what he'd written, after all, if she had, he definitely would have heard about it.

But what if she had found a way around the proximity charm? Hermione was definitely smart enough. What if the Gryffindor had someh-

"Mister Malfoy!" a scolding voice interrupted his thought process (which he was thankful for, cause it had been out of control) "what are you doing sitting up like that? You could possibly re-injure yourself-"

Draco quickly tuned the old medi witch out, as she was boring and he had much better things to do than listen to her jabber on about his injury. Instead, he chose to focus on the quidditch pitch, which he could see from where he was sitting. The Hufflepuff's were practicing, and he smirked when their seeker failed to dodge a bludger. Draco silently wished this annoying old lady would leave him alone, she kept shoving potions his way and demanding he drink them. Ugh and they all tasted so horrid, he had to get out of there.


	13. Lets Go Kill The Bastard!

Draco, having finally been released from the clutches of the hospital wing, made his way down to the Great Hall. It was early in the morning, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was quite hungry. All those potions that 'Palmtree' had forced down his throat had emptied his stomach.

As Draco neared the Hall, he could hear the loud commotion that always came with mealtime. He cringed at the thought of having to sit through such a thing.

Draco entered the Hall taking his seat at the Slytherin table and instantly felt eyes on him. He looked up and immediately locked eyes with the bushy-haired Griffendor, he narrowed his eyes menacingly, all the while ignoring her other glaring Gryffindor counterparts.

Hermione POV

The moment Hermione had spotted a flash of platinum enter the Hall, her head snapped up, she watched him warily. He seemed to be alright, but she could tell by the way he walked-a little stiffer than usual-that he still had the bandages on.

When they locked eyes, she felt her stomach twist. The way he was looking at her was almost as if he knew she'd been in the hospital wing last night, but there was no way that was possible.

Hermione broke the stare when Ron elbowed her, "why's he looking at you like that?" he hissed, gesturing at the Slytherin. Hermione hesitated before answering snappishly with a raised eyebrow, "I don't know Ron maybe because I'm the Mudblood " her friend bristled at the title, "Mione don't you dare call yourself that!" he ordered fiercely.

Hermione just shrugged, "the word is overused, I'm no longer bothered by it honestly." The ginger gaped at her.

"You what!?" He shrieked incredulously, Hermione sighed knowing her friend wouldn't understand but felt like it was her obligation to explain further.

"It's a pitiful insult. I already know I'm Muggleborn, no need to remind me in an insulting way. Malfoys just confused. He may mean the word when he says it, but only because he can't separate what he grew up hearing with what he's learning now. He's having trouble separating the fact that I'm Muggleborn, with the fact that I can be a good wizard."

Hermione finished her eye-glazing speech by sneaking a glance at the Slytherin across the Hall, then turning toward Ron to see what he thought of her explanation.

"He's called you Mudblood more than once?" Ron growled-clearly, having listened to none of what she had just explained-before turning to Harry and pushing up from the table. "Come on, Harry! we've got to go kill that bastard!" Hermione panicked, grabbing her friend's arm and yanking him back down into the seat. " No Ron" she scolded forcefully, "he's learned his lesson," sort of, she added silently in her head. "Besides, Harry already sent him to the hospital wing. No need to risk getting in trouble over a petty thing such as revenge."

Harry, who had not been a part of the previous conversation, quickly joined, "how did you know that he was in the hospital wing?" He asked, suspicion laced through his voice. Hermione momentarily panicked, but then rolled her eyes. "Harry, please do tell me, where else would he have gone? Mars?"

The boy's face cleared and he nodded dumbly, his confusions now replaced with the begrudging acceptance of her explanation.

Hermione was walking through the halls after dinner, having just picked up some extra charms homework for a challenge. It was dark out already, and the shadows cast the castle in an eerie light. Hermione quickened her pace.

She had a nagging feeling that someone was watching her. As Hermione walked, she stuffed the charms work in her bookbag.

Hermione had a sinking feeling that she knew exactly who it was that was following her.

She glanced behind her paranoid, she had her wand, but if someone (also known as Malfoy) were to take her unawares, there was little chance that she would be able to defend herself.

Hermione silently chided herself, why was so freaked out anyway? It's not like Malfoy would do something. Right?  
She was almost to Gryffindor tower.

Just as she was rounding the corner into a shortcut, she felt something sharp jab her the back. Hermione let out a strangled shriek that was immediately silenced when a pale hand covered her mouth. "Shut it, Granger," a low voice warned directly in her ear, their hot breath tickling her neck, making her involuntarily shudder in fear.


	14. I'm A Bloody Slytherin!

The hand over her mouth twitched, and Hermione barely resisted the urge to bite it, or maybe lick it. She vaguely wondered what their hand tasted like, probably apple, as that is what it smelled of. The only thing stopping her was the wand at her back, she knew he would not hesitate to hex her.

Hermione was forcefully dragged back into an alcove. The hand was removed, and soon so was the wand. She heard a faintly muttered silencing charm.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked, hating the way her voice trembled. Turning to face the boy in the small alcove. She swallowed uneasily, waiting for his response.

"What do you think?" he snapped, "you stole something of mine, you just expect me not to confront you about it?" She couldn't help but notice a little note of panic in his voice, the fact that maybe the Slytherin was fretting over what was in the journal eased her mind.

Whatever was in the journal must be significant enough to be panicking about, but what?

"It was an accident," she explained, the blond scoffed a little, then made a gesture with his hand motioning for her to further explain.

"I-I was in the library, and you were there." She paused, trying to think of a way to phrase what happened. Malfoy leaned back against the wall casually, he raised an eyebrow as if to say 'that's it?'

Hermione huffed frustratedly before continuing. "You were asleep, and your books were on the table. I got curious, so I looked through them-" "you thought I was up to something," he stated, interrupting her.

"No!" Hermione countered, stomping her foot, "I was curious!" She insisted. "Anyway, I saw your Potions journal and I-"

Hermione looked up at him, trying to buy time and think of an excuse, while also checking to see if he was listening. He wasn't, or at least it didn't seem like he was; he was twirling his wand in his hand, a bored expression on his face.

"I thought you wanted to know!?" Hermione hissed angrily, she hated being ignored. The blond raised his head, giving her a blank look, then he widened his eyes.

"Oh! Are you done with your lies already?" he drawled, feigning surprise as if he hadn't planned on listening in the first place.

"You bastard!" she fumed, swinging her bookbag in an arc and hitting him in the side. It mustn't have hurt, though because he just started laughing. But not actual laughter she'd never seen him actually laugh before, his laugh was one of mocking, and it made her squirm with barely suppressed rage.

"I don't care how you got it," he scoffed, with a wave of his hand, "I only care about whether or not you read it."

"why what's in it?" Hermione demanded.

"Pornography," he deadpanned as if it was obvious. Hermione stared at him in shock, had she actually missed that when she had flipped through it?

"T-there was p-"

"no of course not, I'm a bloody Slytherin, I know how to hide that stuff! And there's no way I'd put it in a Potions journal! Of all places!" The blonde cut in, disgust marring his features.

"How did you know I was the one in the hospital?"Hermione questioned, deciding not to dwell on the fact that Malfoy had just inadvertently admitted to having pornography hidden about.

"I heard you," he replied matter of factly with a small shrug.

"How?" But before he could answer, it dawned on her, "oh, you weren't asleep, were you." it wasn't a question, so Malfoy didn't answer it as such.

"Even if I wasn't asleep, I sure as hell would have woken up when you came stomping in like a bloody giant," he said with a sneer.

"What!? I'll have you know, I was very quiet," Hermione objected, her voice taking on a very high octave.

Malfoy sighed, tilting his head and regarding her as if she was just a bug underfoot as if she wasn't at all worth his time. But did she really want to be worth his time? No, of course not. If Hermione were to be totally honest, his opinion shouldn't count at all. After all, look at his terrible judgement concerning the Death eaters.

"So you're absolutely sure you didn't read anything that was in the book?" he asked, abruptly changing the subject.

Hermione rolled her eyes, what is his deal with this book?

Draco POV

The know-it-all had just given him a very calculating look, one that was very fit for a Slytherin (he was an expert on such things after all.)

Draco was regretting bringing up the subject of the journal with the Gryffindor because as much as he hated to admit it, she was smart, and would inevitably suspect something. The positive to pressing for information though is that he now knew that she had no idea what was in the book. One look at her face told the whole story, she was in the dark.

Draco prayed though that she hadn't noticed his aunt Bella's letter, copied onto one of the many blank pages at the back of the book. It was describing his task, the one issued by the Dark Lord himself.

He made a mental note to rip the page out tonight, he'd memorized the whole thing already.

"So you didn't read it," he stated with a nod of confirmation, "good."

He turned away from her towards the entrance to the alcove, raising his wand to cancel the silencing spell.

But then as an afterthought, he spun back, meeting her wide brown eyes with a dark piercing gaze. "Stay out of my way Granger."

He then turned on his heel and stalked out of the alcove at a brisk pace. He smirked in satisfaction as he walked, knowing for a fact that the Gryffindor was seething in anger, having not been able to have the last word.


	15. Chapter 15: Love Darts? Seriously?

"Hey, guys! Look what Fred and George sent me!" Ron shouted at breakfast that morning.

He held up a small box no bigger than a book, the ginger shook the package in their faces, Harry gingerly took it while Ron read the letter attached.

"They want me to test it for them!" He exclaimed earnestly, his eyes gazed around the Hall, and Hermione could have sworn they landed on Malfoy for just a second, before turning back to the letter. Hermione craned her neck, trying to get a look at the now opened package the twins had sent. They were small little darts, with pink featherlike fletching, no bigger than her pinky finger.

There was a sticky note inside with the words Love Darts, next to it was a small piece of paper with instructions, but there weren't many instructions, and that bothered her.

"What do they do?" Harry asked, already taking a dart out of the plastic, he twirled it around his fingers studying it. Hermione watched in horror as he went to prick his finger on the point. Her hand thrust out and snatched it from the boy's hand. "Harry! Don't be daft, it's a love potion infused dart. Do you really want to be accidentally pricked?" Harry stared at her in confusion before his face cleared in understanding, "oh, oops." He grinned sheepishly. Honestly, this boy, Hermione shook her head, how on Earth he was still alive is a miracle.

"So you're saying we just-" Harry squinted at the words, "-wave our wand and say the words while picturing the person?"  
Ron nodded. "Yup. That's what it says. Now gimme," he gestured to the dart.

They were in potions class, early and Slughorn wasn't there yet. And Hermione wasn't in the loop about anything the boys were doing.

"What's going on?" She asked, leaning her hands on the desk, watching them fiddle with the dart.

"Nothing," Harry supplied, much too quickly. Hermione narrowed her eyes.

"Alright," Ron said, placing the dart on the desk, "Harry, you ready?" The boy nodded, holding up a timer. Ron started waving his wand muttering the incantation, immediately the tiny arrow shot off the table and whizzed across the room.

Hermione followed its path with her eyes and watched, helplessly, as it struck Malfoy right in the neck. The trio watched in fascination as the dart vanished the moment it pierced the pale skin. The Slytherin slapped a hand to the spot as if squashing a gnat. He spun murder in his eyes, to where the trio was sitting.

Harry stupidly grinned and waved, Malfoy gave him the finger before turning back to his conversation.

The three watched the Slytherin in silence, waiting for something to happen. But nothing happened, "the twins said it could take a few minutes. They wanted me to time how long it takes for the potion to kick in, then report back," The ginger reassured calmly. Though Hermione couldn't help but notice the slightest bit of disappointment in his voice.

"So, what exactly does the potion do?" Hermione asked nonchalantly, she knew it was a love potion of sorts, but she was still unsure of the effects. She looked over at Ron for an answer, but he just shrugged.

"Fred and George didn't really specify much, so I'm not entirely sure." Hermione's eyes widened in shock, glancing down at the dart then back up to Malfoy.

Harry, having noticed the distress on Hermione's face, spoke up. "Hey it's okay that we don't know what the potion does, cause that the reason the twins sent it to us, you know to test it for them, and-"

"So, you thought it was a good idea to test it on a fellow student?" Hermione shrilled, she was going to continue reprimanding them, but Slughorn took that moment to waltz into the classroom.

"Hey, how much are you willing to gamble that Ferret face starts snogging Pansy," Ron said with a nudge to Harry.

"Nah." The brunette replied with the shake of the head. "It'd be better if he snogged Crabbe."

Hermione groaned and left to go to her Potions table, but she could faintly hear Ron express to Harry, "this is by far the best gift ever!"

Halfway through, Hermione distinctly heard Ron contradict himself when he said, "Ugh, this is by far the worst gift ever. It doesn't even work!"

"Dean! where's the Bat Wing?" Hermione questioned, the boy next to her only shrugged. With a sigh, Hermione pushed herself up from the table and made her way to the Potions cabinet, ingredient list in hand. She stepped in, and the door closed behind her, when she looked up from the list, there was Malfoy.

She let out a little squeak in surprise. His back was turned, and he spun around at the noise. His eyes darkened, dangerously when he spotted her, and Hermione took a small step back. He followed until her back was against the door, towering over her. He was so close that she could smell the Apple on his breath. And that's when...

To be continued...

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> To be continued...


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